tecH brieFiNg
Despite limited development time, Z1 CycleTech is already im- pressed with the new Suzuki GSX-R600 (above); team engi- neer Richard Winter (below, r) says the latest Kawasaki
Superbike is a step up in handling as well as mechanicals. photo by neil cameron (above) & colin Fraser (below)
Suspension for BMW’s campaign is again
handled by Ohlins, famed builder/racer Jon Cornwell aiding with development. ‘Corn- dog’ also works for Larry Pegram’s BMW ef- fort in the U.S. Duff was more than satisfied with the progress to date, explaining that “Brett says he’s more comfortable on this bike than on any other Superbike he’s rid- den, so we’re definitely headed in the right direction.” The other all-new bike on the tour in 2011
is the Suzuki GSX-R600, perhaps the most tightly packaged and mass-centralized sports machine currently on your dealer’s floor. Given Suzuki’s long history of track- oriented super sports machines, the new GSX-R has some big shoes to fill. “The chassis is stunning,” started Zaid
Saleemi of Z-1 CycleTech in North Toronto, the builder for the new Alex Welsh GSX-R program. “The engine is back to basics, it has small ports and it makes lots of torque, and for a 600 the bike has great mid-range. “The bike has top notch components in
terms of the forks, brakes, all those areas. This is a really racer friendly bike, it’s an easy bike to build, and that’s always a worry when you’re starting with an all-new machine. For instance, the wiring has sub-harnesses, and that allows you to simply remove the por- tions you don’t need for a track bike. The air box is a change, and now they have a really good seal for the inlet tract.” Even though the popular Welsh showed
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very well on the Z-1 Suzuki GSX-R600 at the ICAR opener, Saleemi said that proves the bike ”is an absolutely great motorcycle, be- cause we’ve barely started in the develop- ment process. Its greatest strength is that it is easy to ride. So far, the peak power is
slightly down, but the significant improve- ment in the mid-range more than makes up for it. We’ll play with some things on the Dyno, improve the power spread, but we’re already reasonably happy with the perform- ance.”
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